Category: Qualities of Good Fiction

  • The Long and the Short of It

    Most readers believe writing a collection of short stories is easier than writing a novel. They surmise fewer words represent reduced complexity. With this initial…

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  • From Telling to Showing

    Writers of fiction are consistently told, and rightfully so, to “show, don’t tell.” In other words, a reader wants to see the story unspool, not…

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  • Somewhere Below the Top

    Several weeks ago I was speaking with a friend who is in the throes of completing a debut novel. A beta reader, who is an…

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  • Getting Into Character

    Getting into character is a theater term. It’s the effort an actor makes to embody the part they are playing—well beyond the script and the…

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  • Draft 18

    I am in the midst of draft 18 of my current novel. This is an administrative fact, but one that carries nuance. The term defined:…

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